[ ˌmα:skə'reɪd , ˌmas- ]
■ noun
1》 a false show or pretence.
2》 the wearing of disguise.
↘ chiefly N. Amer. a masked ball.
■ verb pretend to be someone that one is not.
↘be disguised or passed off as something else: the idle gossip that ~s as news.
Derivatives
~r noun
Origin
C16: from Fr. mascarade , from Ital. mascherata , from maschera 'mask'.